News | November 7th 2018

121 Seaport Achieves LEED Platinum Certification

CBT is pleased to announce that 121 Seaport has achieved LEED Platinum certification, the highest LEED rating level possible. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED is an internationally recognized green building rating system, and a distinguished level of achievement in sustainable design. 

CBT's design of 121 Seaport, developed in partnership with Skanska USA Commercial Development, was carefully choreographed to promote sustainable design within the Seaport, enhance neighborhood vibrancy, and innovation within. At 17-stories and 440,000 square feet, a major differentiator for the project is that one of its greatest challenges – being sited upon an underground transit line that drastically limited development opportunity – became one of its greatest strengths in driving ever-evolving design solutions as well as a holistic approach and early commitment to sustainable strategies. 

The building’s bold and elegant form cleverly belies the reasons for which it is most celebrated: its implausibly low consumption of energy and materials, highly-efficient floorplate design, innovative siting and thoughtful orientation within its surroundings. By virtue of its orientation and building form alone, 121 Seaport boasts a 10% reduction in façade area relative to an equal rectangular massing, a 10% reduction in foundational concrete and steel, and a 15% increase in energy savings by limiting solar heat gain. The project supplanted a long-standing surface parking lot and partially recreated natural habitats through vegetated roofs and ground landscapes that also supported the reduction of storm water into the infrastructure. Water collected on the roof and landscape is also re-used for non-potable uses. Responsible and innovative strategies, such as use of comparative energy models, were implemented to evaluate everything from large conceptual moves to detailed façade studies with sustainable intent.